New play through, suggestions for an interesting an powerful for main char?

RagingOrc

So i'm going to start yet again with this game and I'm interested in hearing if any of you forum folk can suggest an interesting class to play right through to the end of TOB.

I've generally played as mages or sorc's in the past as I gelled with their setups and liked how OP you could get with the right spells and items.However, i switched it up slightly in my last game of BGEE and played a Blade which was fun! I also 'think' first time I played all those years ago I played a fighter and just busted skulls as a teen/kid.

That said, i'm looking for something different but still powerful throughout the saga. Any suggestions?

I've never really played a druid so was thinking maybe ranger/cleric? to get best of both worlds? Also i've never played a thief all the way through and never really got into backstabbing....Yes i know, awful isn't it. Therefore I guess that could be an option and any tips would be appreciated.

What do you people think would be an interesting and powerful class?

Thanks

Madhax

I got past the first two paragraphs thinking "Ranger/Cleric!", then saw that you thought of it already.

It seems you've had your fair share of arcane-oriented protagonists. I think you should go purely physical or divine with this run. Ranger/Cleric gives you spells from both sides of the priest scroll (though not much relevant from the Druid side, unlike IWD characters unfortunately), along with free dual-wielding. You'll wind up being a solid melee combatant with blunt weapons who can also whip up divine magic.

A fighter/thief is another fun choice. I find the protagonist to be by far the best backstabber in the game, since neither Imoen nor Jan are good at it and Yoshimo doesn't stick around. Dunno what Hexxat will be capable of. A fighter/thief in BG1 will end many fights with a single backstab (such as mage bosses), and with planning will be capable of opening every lock, finding/disarming every trap, and almost perfect stealth. In BG2, they get even better. I haven't beaten TOB yet with one, but I did get to HLA levels, and it was nuts. Specialization plus dual wielding plus speed weapon plus level 13+ fighter equals 4.5 APR, which doubles to 9 if you have Improved Haste. Pop Assassination with that and watch bits of your enemies fly about.

A Stalker would work like the fighter/thief above, except with more melee prowess. Better THAC0, free dual-wield, backstabbing, spellcasting.

RagingOrc

Cool, indeed they all sound like excellent choices! I'm leaning towards the fighter/thief as it's completely different to the spellcasting i'm used to. Is it better to multi or dual? Do you have any tips in general for the class?

Oh and thank you for your response ^_^

Madhax

I prefer the multi-class, but you could make a case for either.

Multiclass gets you both schools of HLAs, and lets you hit the sweet bonus APR at level 13 without spending half the saga trying to get your levels back. You don't get Grandmaster, but you don't really need it with speed weapons. You also get to be an elf, netting you that sweet 19 DEX.

A little meta-knowledge and planning for thief abilities goes a long way. For example, in BG1 you could drown half the Sword Coast in the Master Thievery potions available to you, so I never bothered to go past 60 in Open Locks or put any points at all into Pickpocket. I think ~90 is the highest you need to go in Find Traps, too. Everything else was stealth for me. Note that a 19 DEX elf will end the first game with 20 dexterity if you give him the tome, which will further boost thief abilities.

Just never pretend he's a tank, and you should do nicely. Stealth for scouting and backstabbing takes some patience initially, but in my experience you get used to it and it becomes really fun and natural. Being able to scout ahead really cut down on my need for reloads and let me better justify pre-buffing, too.

Southpaw

@RagingOrc - you seem to have played a lot with casters.
If you want to stay a caster, I hear the Avenger Druid kit is interesting (sort of a Druid/Mage hybrid)

If you don't ... and you haven't tried a Thief, I'd suggest
a) Blackguard - very powerful and gets some nifty abilities that you can use = things to do during a fight = less boring than a regular Fighter (Although, there is already Dorn and he is as powerful as they get)
b) Stalker Ranger - backstabbing like a thief and still a powerful warrior. Backstabs can get quite funny and the regular Thieves are much worse in open combat.
c) Fighter/Thief multiclass, or dual class at level 7 - A Thief with all it's resourcefulness, skills and tactics - but also a much better fighter any other Thief would ever be.
d) Monk - weak in BG1, becomes a beast in BG2...added difficulty in having him survive BG1

IkMarc

Kensai/thief is quite different from what you played before and is one of the most powerful classes there is so...

Corvino

If you've never played a druid, and tend not to go for melee protagonists then a fighter (or berserker) -> druid dual is pretty potent. Dualling at 7 gives you your primary class skills back with room to spare in BG1. If you've used Jaheira in BG2 then you'll know roughly what to expect, but getting over the level 14-15 XP mountain takes far less time with a dual.

The main problem is getting a roll that satisfies the 15 STR, 17 WIS & CHA minimun without gimping other stats.

Lateralus

RagingOrc said:

So i'm going to start yet again with this game and I'm interested in hearing if any of you forum folk can suggest an interesting class to play right through to the end of TOB.

I've generally played as mages or sorc's in the past as I gelled with their setups and liked how OP you could get with the right spells and items.However, i switched it up slightly in my last game of BGEE and played a Blade which was fun! I also 'think' first time I played all those years ago I played a fighter and just busted skulls as a teen/kid.

That said, i'm looking for something different but still powerful throughout the saga. Any suggestions?

I've never really played a druid so was thinking maybe ranger/cleric? to get best of both worlds? Also i've never played a thief all the way through and never really got into backstabbing....Yes i know, awful isn't it. Therefore I guess that could be an option and any tips would be appreciated.

What do you people think would be an interesting and powerful class?

Thanks

Beserker. Being immune to almost every kind of mind altering spell and hold spell is SO HELPFUL it makes this kit overpowered. The added combat boost is useful too. You just need to be wise when using it. At level 7 go to the Baldurs Gate theives guild and dual to rogue, follow that quest line just for RP sake. You will fly through rogue levels until about 5, then it's a grind getting to 8. Solo, you can reach max levels without any cheating or killing Drizzt or Elminster, and still have over 70% of the world unexplored.

It's a fun build.

kab

If you want to be strong throughout then that rules out a lot of dual options. Multi class builds like Fighter/Mage are strong the entire trilogy.

I think Avenger is a very interesting class that can be powerful as is Fighter/Druid. The F/M and T/M tend to be more straightforward which I think makes them less interesting.

Mathmick

Not sure if it works this far backwards, but if you want a REALLY powerful character try pre-generating them in ToB and import back to BG:EE.

mylegbig

Berserker dualed to Cleric
Ranger/Cleric (Archer dualed to Cleric would be interesting, but would be less powerful)
Kensai dualed to Thief
Swashbuckler (if you don't want to bother with backstab)

Millardkillmoore

Go for Inquisitor. You'll play like a Fighter that can cut through Mages like a hot knife through butter, remove negative effects from your party, and make all enemy illusions irrelevant. Add in some nice immunities, good Charisma, and access to Carsomyr in BG2 and you have a great character.

element

totemic druid

solid class very fun class
lots of summons makes for a fun time

RagingOrc

Thanks for all the awesome suggestions

There's certainly a lot of options here

Now I just need to find the time lol.